The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Community Reinvestment Act: Past Accomplishments and Future Regulatory Challenges

This paper draws on a more extensive Joint Center for HousingStudies assessment of the CRA, funded by the FordFoundation. The larger study not only assesses the impact ofthe CRA on home purchase and home refinance lending, it alsopresents commentary on the CRA’s impact on small-businessand multifamily lending, as well as on the provision of financialservices more generally. In addition, the Ford Foundationstudy presents qualitative findings concerning the CRA’simpact on the operation of banks and mortgage lenders as wellas the impact on the relationship between mortgage lendersand community-based advocacy organizations.Our paper focuses on the regulatory and legislativechallenges that confront the act at age twenty-five. Inaddition to providing a brief review of the evolution of CRAregulations, we document the impact that the CRA has hadon home mortgage lending to lower income people andcommunities and assess changes in industry structure. Weconclude with a discussion of current legislative andregulatory challenges...